Secret Santa
by Lodi
Summary: A couple found dead in the mist of the holiday season finds Grissom, Warrick and Greg to figure out why. Meanwhile, Catherine, Sara and Nick have a little holiday mystery of their own.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Just thought it would be fun to use them.

Summary: A couple found dead in the mist of the holiday season, finds Grissom, Warrick and Greg to figure out why. Meanwhile, Catherine, Sara and Nick have a little holiday mystery of their own.

Author's Notes: A little gift for the holiday season with hints of GSR. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Secret Santa

Chapter One

In an upper end neighborhood, signs of the upcoming holidays were unmistakable. All the houses on the streets were decorated with brightly shining lights, some blinking, and plastic Santa figures displayed in the front yards. Each house competed to outshine the other.

Around 10:30PM a dark SUV passed these houses, heading towards the far end of the street. The vehicle approached the largest and most conspicuously decorated houses at the end of a cul-de-sac.

The thing that made this particular house stand out amongst all the other was the complete lack of decorations. It was completely dark and devoid of any blinking lights or holiday figurines.

The SUV pulled into the long driveway. A middle-aged woman with dark hair got out of the driver's seat and reached back into the car to collect her shopping bags. Locking up the vehicle she turned and headed into the house.

She let herself in one of the side doors, struggling with the key for a moment as she wrestled with shopping bags. Entering the kitchen, she placed her bags down on the counter and turned on a light.

Stopping to listen, the woman heard the soft sound ofPerry Comosing "It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas."

"Mr. Cape," the woman called out. "Are you still up?"

She made her way towards the living room, followingthe sound of themusic. As she passed through the entryway, a roaring fire lit the entire room. Unlike the outside of the house, the living room was festively decorated. A large tree stood at the opposite end of the room from the fireplace, spectacularly lit and decorated with fine ornaments.

The woman froze for a moment, confused that she found the room empty.

"Mr. Cape?" She approached the fireplace, watching the flames dance hypnotically before turning to the coffee table. Two glasses remained on the coffee table. She moved to pick them up when she gasped, halting all movement.

There on the floor in front of her, lied the body of Mr. Cape, stiff and lifeless, and more shocking still was the body of a woman lying about a foot away, blood pooled around her lifeless form.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

About forty-five minutes passed since the SUV rumbled down the street, the woman discovering the bodies in her employers house, when a dark Tahoe came bounding down the street toward the same dark house.

The house was now slightly more illuminate due to the police vehicles flashing lights out front where a group of neighbors had gathered having been awakened by all the activity.

The owner of the Tahoe, a middle-aged man with dark hair streaked with silver on the sides, got out and approached the large house, a large, silver case in hand.

"Wouldn't be the holidays without a little misery to ruin the festivities," the stout Captain Brass greeted the newcomer and led him into the house. He led the man to the living room where the two bodies still lied on the floor.

"And misery loves company," stated Gil Grissom.

"Bodies were discovered 'round 10:36 pm by the housekeeper, a Mrs. Lucinda Fermera. Said everything was locked up…"

As Brass stated the preliminary facts of the case, Grissom pulled on a pair of rubber gloves, his attention turned elsewhere. He was listening to a sound coming from one corner of the room where a stereo system was set up.

"It's… it's… it's…" the record player skipped.

Grissom looked back to Brass, who was just finishing up.

"I mean you're the expert here, but it looks like a double suicide."

Grissom glanced around the room before turning his attention back to the record player.

"Maybe," he stated absently, his mind elsewhere. He bent down and corrected the record player's needle until a smooth sound played…

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere I go…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"The male's name is Julian Cape, 47 years old, and the owner of this house," the coroner, David, read off the driver's license in his hand before looking over the body. "Time of death was approximately four hours ago. No sign of struggle and no wounds suggest he died of natural causes or was poisoned. Need to run a tox-screen to confirm or dispute that."

Grissom photographed the woman, having already gotten pictures of the man.

"Did the woman die at the same time?" Grissom inquired, pulling the camera away from his face, his attention fixated on the woman as he listened to David.

"Can't know for sure, but at least withina couple of hours. Suffered a single gunshot wound to the head."

Grissom squatted down beside the woman, examining her more closely.

"Traces of GSR. She was shot at close range."

David looked up at Grissom. "Could be sucide."

"I don't know. I mean, plausibly, there is the option that both deaths were the result of suicide. Anything's possible." He stood up and moved away from the body.

"If you're done with the bodies, I'll get them delivered to the lab."

"Thanks, David." Pulling his attention away from the woman, Grissom looked around the room and found the woman's purse on a desk beside one of the entryways. He went over to the desk and started looking for an ID.

"Nice purse." It was Warrick Brown. He appeared behind Grissom, followed close behind by Greg Sanders. "I'm not sure glitter goes with that outfit, though."

"Or those shoes," Greg put in.

Grissom glanced over at the two of them, flashing them the license he had found in the purse.

"Romy Montgomery, age 42 years."

"Relation to—" Warrick wondered.

"One, Julian Cape," Grissom supplied. "Don't know the nature of the relationship just yet. Brass is talking with housekeeper."

Having unpacked their equipment, Warrick and Greg set about collecting evidence. Warrick began by swabbing some of the blood and checking for other pieces of evidence on the floor where the bodies had been. Greg started to dust the coffee table and the wine glasses found at one end.

"Grissom, did you collect the gun?"

"No, gun was gone when we got here," Brass ianswered forGrissom. "Talked with the housekeeper. Says she first arrived at 6 am as she does every morning. Went about her usual jobs, cooking, cleaning, you know the deal.

"At 5:30PM she had dinner ready for Mr. Cape. He asked her to go shopping for him and gave her a list of names. He asked if she could have that finished tonight and drop off the gifts, as she had the rest of the year off to enjoy the holidays with her family.

"She came back around 10:30 PM, let herself in with her key, heard the record playing, and walked in the living room where she found our dearly departed."

"Coroner has time of death placed around 7:30PM give or take an hour," Grissom added. "If it turns out the man was murdered, it would have happened shortly after the housekeeper left."

"Anyone else stop by while the housekeeper was here?" Warrick asked.

"Not while she was here."

Greg stepped up. "But if it turns out the guy was poisoned, the housekeeper could have poisoned him easily. She could have slipped him something before heading out the door, finding him dead upon her return."

"Well, if the man died first, then where did the gun go after the woman shot herself, assuming she shot herself? Did you find a gun anywhere else in the house?" Warrick looked over at Grissom.

"No. But let's get this evidence back to the lab for processing, before we start theorizing."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The mall was empty and silent attwo thirty in the morning. Only four people walked past the dark shops.

"Burglary during the major shopping season," remarked Catherine Willows as she walked alongside the security guard leading them to the crime scene, talking to the two people following her.

"The thieves got guts with all the supped up security around this time," the tall brunette woman, Sara Sidle, put forth.

"Mall security includes video surveillance. Got something interesting you'll want to take a look at whenever your ready," added the security guard, Louis O'Conner.

The other man with them had short dark hair and the name on his black vest read Stokes. He walked alongside Sara, behind the other two, looking around the mall.

"You ever sit on Santa's lap as a kid?" Sara asked him as they passed the center of the mall where a large chair had been cordoned to control traffic flow.

Nick Stokes glanced at the chair. "No."

Sara looked at him a minute but did not press the issue, the two of them continuing on in silence.

"Say, Sara, are you joining in the team's secret Santa exchange or what?"

Sara shrugged. "I guess I could."

"Great. Now, everyone on the team is in on it."

"Why this year?"

"Didn't really think about it before. Besides with the year everyone just had, I thought it'd be a good way for the team to bond and enjoy the holidays together before joining up with our families."

"All the shop entrances are locked at night. Entry wasn't forced so the suspect has a way in," O'Conner brought up, cutting in on their conversation.

"Inside job," Catherine nodded.

The team turned the corner, stopping short when they noticed the crime scene.

It was a toy shop. Boxes and stuffed animals scattered the floor. The shelves were all in disarray.

The four of them stepped lightly, careful not to add to the destruction or disturb any of the evidence. Nick had his camera out, snapping pictures as they passed through the shop.

"Someone eager to get the next Tickle-Me-Elmo," Catherine observed.

"Do you have an inventory list of the things that were stolen or damaged?" Sara asked.

O'Conner led Catherine to the register desk before answering.

"Sure, I'll bring you one."

"Alright, Sara, you can start dusting for prints around the toys, I'll dust around the register, and when Nick gets done with the photos, he can sort through the toys with you," Catherine assigned.

Sara nodded and got right to work.

About two hours later, the three investigators were finished collecting evidence.

"I think we'd like to see the surveillance video now," Catherine told O'Conner, who nodded and led them to the security center.

* * *

In the security office, they all huddled around the surveillance monitors to watch the night's activities. 

"Hold it. Is that who I think it is?" Sara was quick to point out.

On one of the displays, four figures appeared at the entrance of the shop. One of them was a large figure with a beard and hat, appearing as the leader, ordering the other three who appeared to be dressed in elf costumes.

Nick came in closer to look at the display.

"Bad Santa."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Back at the lab Catherine, Nick, Warrick, and Greg all sat about in the break room discussing their latest case and plans for the holidays. At one point Nick stood up with his baseball cape turned over in his hand, shaking it a little.

"Alright, I put all our names in this cap and we're all goin' ta pick one name and that person is the person you shop for. If you get your own name, you can pick again. Remember, don't put your name on the tag; just sign it 'From: Secret Santa.'"

He looked around. They all nodded in assent.

"Alright, Catherine, you pick first."

Soon they were all checking the paper in their hands, looking around suspiciously at each other, trying to get a clue. Greg was acting the most cautious, going out of his way to show the other people in the room that no one was looking at his paper.

"Guys, new lead in our investigation," Grissom said as he walked in the room with a file in his hand. He stopped when he saw the look on all their faces. "What?"

"You have to pick your secret Santa." Nick stretched the hat out toward him.

Just then Sara entered the break room, her head in a file. "Hey guys, as you know, we didn't find any prints at the store, video shows they were all wearing gloves, but mall security sent over the names of the two Santa impersonators working at the mall."

She looked up as she finished, noticing the cap that Nick was brandishing towards Grissom.

Smiling her understanding, she said, "Secret Santa drawing."

"You got it. Now come on you two," urged Nick.

Grissom and Sara both reached into the cap. They both glanced at the other when their hands touched slightly, and quickly grabbed a slip of paper, drawing their hands back close to their bodies.

With the last two names drawn, Nick moved to recover his garbage and get back to business, the others following his lead. Everyone seemed oblivious to the two late comers who now stood in silence.

Their silence lasted only a couple seconds, Sara recovering first. She turned and walked out the door, followed closely by Nick and Catherine.

After they had gone, Grissom turned toward Warrick and Greg.

"Turns out, our Romy Montgomery was a Mrs. Tyler Montgomery before she died," Grissom started, mind back on the case.

"So she's married and found dead in another man's house," Warrick stated, his blue eyes focused deep in thought.

"Lovers?" Greg chimed in. "Wait. Why would Romy Montgomery drug her lover and then shoot herself?"

"You're so certain she's the one who drugged him?" Grissom shot an inquisitorial look at Greg.

"Well, this was a murder-suicide, right?"

Warrick spoke up, "It'spossible that Mrs. Montgomery drugged Mr. Cape, but motive's tricky. Meanwhile, Mrs. Fermera, the housekeeper, works at the residence and has all the opportunity in the world."

"Motive?" Grissom interrupted.

"I'll look into it, but she's still a probable suspect. Also, we have no reason to assume Mr. Montgomery didn't find out about the affair. If he did, anger, betrayal, jealousy, all motive."

Grissom nodded absently as he mulled over Warrick's list of suspects.

"Results on the fingerprints on the two wine glasses came back. Matches to three different people include Mr. Cape, Mrs. Montgomery, and Mrs. Fermera," Greg read from a file folder he laid out on the table before him.

No one stopped him so he went on, "Tox report on Mr. Cape came back as well. Mr. Cape died of an overdose. Doxepin hydrochloride."

"Antidepressant," Grissom stated. "Probably prescription."

"Wine came back positive for the doxepin hydrochloride as well."

"Means his death could have been suicide," Grissom looked down at the table, focused on it but not seeing it as his mind was elsewhere.

"It could still be murder. Some of the fingerprints on the wine glass withthe doxepin hydrochloridebelonged to Mr. Cape, Mrs. Fermera, and Mrs. Montgomery. Mrs. Montgomery and Mrs. Fermera were the only ones to touch the other glass," Greg finished.

"Shoe prints have a match to all three with a fourth set that are unknown," Warrick added, finishing his own report.

Grissom looked up to address Warrick and Greg.

"Warrick, check out the housekeeper's story, background, possible motive. Greg, find out where the pills came from, and how they ended up in the wine. I'm going with Brass to talk with Mrs. Montgomery's husband."

On that final note, all of them started collecting their files.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Greg interjected with a smile, winning glances from Grissom and Warrick as they were leaving. "So, whose names d'ya guys pick?"

Warrick rolled his eyes and walked out of the break room.

"It's a secret, Greg," Grissom half scolded him. In the doorway, he turned back to look at Greg.

"Figure it out." He smiled as he turned and walked away, leaving Greg with another challenge.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

At the mall, two mendressed as Santawere standing in side by side inside an employee lounge in the presence of Catherine, Nick, Sara and a security guard.

"Please, turn and face your right," Catherine asked. Nick snapped a picture of each man. Sara began inspecting each of the suits in turn, collecting fibers, boot prints, and other pieces that may stand out.

"So you guys mind telling us where you were last night, starting with Mr. Eros."

"Deliverin' presents to all good little girls and boys," the man on the right answered sarcastically in a gruff voice.

Nick glanced at Catherine. The motion did not go unnoticed by Mr. Eros.

"Look, I was home with a Scotch watchin' the tube. I get enough of this during the day. I ain't comin' back at night."

"Right," Catherine looked far from convinced, "can anyone substantiate that."

"No. Ain't got no family. Just me an the Scotch... and I drank that." The man ended with a sneer.

Catherine turned to address the other man, "Okay, Mr. Fox, where were you?"

"I was at home with my wife. We were baking cookies with the grandchildren for the holidays." Mr. Fox was more soft spoken and came across more amiably than Mr. Eros.

"Alright," Sara cut in as she finished inspecting the suits, "Mr. Eros, Mr. Fox, thank you for your time. We'll be in touch."

Mr.Fox left to go back to work, while Mr.Eros moved toward the locker room to change out of the Santa suit.

"Well," Catherine made a motion to start.

"I found a small tear in Mr. Eros suit, took some fibers to match those found at the scene," offered Sara. "Also found some strands of hair that seems different from either Mr. Eros or Mr. Fox."

"Different how?"

"S'longer."

Catherine looked over to Nick.

"I'll get these photos over to Archie to compare images we isolated from the surveillance video."

Sara and Nick, gear and evidence in hand, started for the door. Both of them stopped when they realized Catherine did not move to join them.

"You coming?" Sara asked.

"No, I think I'm gonna stick around here for a bit. Don't know, maybe do a bit of holiday shopping."

Sara looked back at Nick, who shrugged and continued out the door.

"See ya back at the lab."

* * *

Catherine wandered past the shops, most of them decorated with Christmas trees, tinsel, or poinsettias. Everything was red or green. Funny, she thought, that those should be the colors of a traffic light as well, telling people to stop and go.

All of the people in the mall today were going non-stop.

Walking through mall, she passed by Mr.Fox playing Santa for a crowd of eager young children. Parents and grandparents enthusiastically snapped pictures, trying to capture the moment.

A small, sad smile found its way on her face as she remembered similar memories with her own daughter, Lindsey.

She turned the corner, coming upon the crime scene at the toy shop. Yellow tape and a couple security men prevented anyone from entering the area.

Catherine walked along the tape until she got about halfway, where she turned to face the mall and the crowd of people. Turning her head, she scanned the entire scene before her, not knowing exactly what it was she was hoping to find.

After ten minutes, Catherine had not seen anything out of the ordinary and walked over to a nearby Cinnabon.

Behind the counter a couple of women worked to prepare a fresh batch of rolls. Catherine walked up to the counter without them realizing they had a customer.

"—not sure what I'm supposed to do. My son believes in Santa. I don't want him to be disappointed. To top it off, his friends at school are all talking about all the things they're hoping to get from Santa…"

The older of the two women had glanced up and noticed Catherine and went to serve her. Meanwhile, the other woman who looked to be in her twenties continued talking.

"I can't afford half the things he's asking for, but I don't want to disappoint him."

"Here ya go, ma'am," the server addressed Catherine, before turning to comfort her friend. "Don't worry. You just do what you can."

Catherine turned away from the counter, once again looking out over the multitude of shoppers, not quite succeeding in ignoring their conversation.

"Besides, ya never know when a miracle's gonna happen," the middle-aged woman finished telling her coworker. The voices disappeared, their owners having moved toward the back of the shop.

Catherine continued to pick at her cinnabon, not really concentrating on anything in particular.

Suddenly, her eyes came back into focus as an idea had just presented itself to her. Grabbing her purse, she walked swiftly toward the exit.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Grissom and Brass stood on the porticosupported byclassical Corinthian-style pillars. Mr. Montgomery's house was even more grand than that of Mr. Cape. The butler answered the door.

"May I help you, sirs?" he asked, his voice a monotone, revealing nothing.

Flashing his ID, Brass started, "I'mDetective Jim Brass, LVPD, and this is Gil Grissom from the crime lab. Is Mr. Montgomery available? We have a few questions for him."

The butler looked the two men for a couple seconds, before deciding that they were, in fact, legitimate.

"May I ask what this is in reference to?"

"Tell Mr. Montgomery the questions pertain to his wife," Brass stated, trying to keep his patience with the hired help.

The butler seemed as if he wanted to challenge that, but seeing the look on Brass' face changed his mind.

"You may come in and wait. I'll go find Mr. Montgomery for you." With that, the butler disappeared behind a grand spiral staircase in the entrance hall of the house.

After the butler left, Brass addressed Grissom, who was looking around the entrance area, taking in everything, sights, smells, sounds.

"It appears our Mrs. Montgomery had expensive taste in men."

Grissom pondered that before stating, "I don't think this has much to do with money. Mr. Montgomery's place seems far more elegant than Mr. Cape's implying he has more money. An affair with Mr. Cape for money would be a step down."

Brass looked over at Grissom and nodded slightly, a somewhat confused expression on his face.

"Morning, gentlemen. What can I do for you?" A middle-aged man appeared at the top of the staircase, causing Grissom and Brass to look up as he made his entrance.

This time Grissom spoke up. "We're here on business concerning you're wife, Romy."

"I'm sorry I can't help you. Romy's not around at the moment."

"Do you have any idea where she might be?" Grissom continued, looking strait into Mr. Montgomery's eyes.

Mr. Montgomery faltered a second, confusion on his face as he continued his descent down the staircase.

"No, why? Is she in some kind of trouble or something? I swear she's never broken any laws or-"

"Actually, Mrs. Montgomery was found dead in the residence of a Mr. Julian Cape," cut Brass.

Mr. Montgomery brought his hands up to his face, rubbing his forehead in disbelief. His breathing became irregular as if someone had just knocked the wind out of him. Grissom saw all of this.

"Mr. Montgomery," Grissom started again, "your wife, she didn't come home last night."

Mr. Montgomery snapped his head up, looking at Grissom, the disbelief still in his eyes. He shook his head.

"No. Ah, she sometimes stayed at a friend's house overnight, if she went out drinking or something. I d-don't know a Mr. Cape, though. Did he, is he the one who hurt her?"

Grissom raised one eyebrow and addressed the question. "We're still investigating. If it's all right with you, Mr. Montgomery, we'd liked to around the place and get a sample of your shoe prints."

Mr. Montgomery looked at him in shock. "Am I under suspicion here? I didn't even know my wife was dead until you told me about it. Now you want to go looking around… the murder didn't take place here."

Brass and Grissom exchanged a look.

"It's just procedural, Mr. Montgomery, we need to find out about your wife, how she lived, and rule you out as a viable suspect."

"Fine. Help yourself." Mr. Montgomery waved them off, still holding his head in one hand.

Grissom started up the stairs while Brass stayed behind to keep an eye on Mr. Montgomery and ask him some more questions. The walkway at the top of the stairs went to the left and right with three rooms on each side. Grissom turned toward the right, walking past all the rooms, at first just glancing inside.

He stopped at the master bedroom and went inside. To the naked eye, the room was incredibly immaculate and sterile as if being preserved in a museum. The bed, hidden partially by a royal canopy, looked as though no one ever slept in it. A large, full-length mirror hung on the wall opposite from the bed. On the wall opposite from the bay windows leading out onto a balcony was a beautifully ornate dressing table with mirrors, hair and make-up brushes all lined up neatly awaiting use.

Grissom walked over to the dressing table, his proximity reflected in the three mirrors set against the wall. He spent a moment looking over all of the objects.

He then moved on to the closets, two walk-in closets, one on each side of the bed. Like the bedroom, everything in the closets seemed to remain untouched with the complete absence of dust or spider webs. Mrs. Montgomery's clothes were all very elegant and gave only the impression that the wearer had money, lots of money. Mr. Montgomery's clothes reeked of wealth as well.

After gathering shoe prints from Mr. Montgomery's shoes and checking for anything else that may prove to be useful, Grissom moved on to the fabulously pristine bathroom. He looked into the medicine cabinet behind the mirror. Looking through the medications and small toiletries, he found an anti-depression medication prescription for Mr. Montgomery.

Grissom then moved on to remaining rooms on the upper level including two guestrooms, a guest bath, and an office making note of the things he saw.

When he was done searching the house, Grissom met Brass and Mr. Montgomery back in the entryway.

"Mr. Montgomery, you are diagnosed with depression," Grissom stated, rather than asked.

Mr. Montgomery was a little taken aback, but answered, "I'm a workaholic and sometimes fall into some bad times. I have medication for it."

Grissom nodded, making a mental note.

"Just one final thing. I have to get prints from the shoes you have on as well."

Grissom laid down some print paper and inked the bottom of each one of Mr. Montgomery's shoes, asking him to step down on the paper to make the print.

"I guess this means I'll be alone this Christmas," Mr. Montgomery sad sadly. Grissom looked up at the man; something in his cheek twitched. He looked down again to clean up his kit.

Having finished their investigation with the husband, Grissom and Brass left the house.

* * *

Outside, Grissom and Brass got into the Tahoe.

"What d'ya think?" Brass asked as way of conversation, yet remaining on the task at hand.

"So farthe only thing they have in common besides moneyand Romy Montgomery is aprescription for depression. I'll have to see what Warrick and Greg found out."

He drove to the end of the driveway, stopping for a passing car.

Grissom glanced outside his driver-side window, doing a double take when something caught his eye. Seeing the trash set out on the street, he got an idea.

Without telling Brass, Grissom got out of the Tahoe and grabbed his evidence kit. Brass looked over at him quizzically but did not say anything. Grissom carefully opened the lid of the garbage can. Through the plastic garbage bag Grissom could just make out some red stains. He immediately confiscated the trash and got back into the car.

"What was that about?"

Grissom looked sideways at Brass, turned back to concentrate on the road, and pulled out of the driveway.

"What's black and white and red all over?"

Brass shrugged, "Newspaper."

"A nice suit stained with blood."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Walking swiftly through the corridors back at the LVPD Crime Lab, Catherine had to do a quick double take when she saw Greg and Warrick through the windows of the break room. She turned abruptly and poked her head in the doorway.

"—that one," Greg was saying, pointing at the catalogue open before them.

Warrick looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Hey guys," Catherine broke in, cutting off Greg's response. Both of them looked up at her. "Have you seen Nick or Sara?"

"No," both of them answered in unison.

"We just sat down," Warrick elaborated.

"Oh. Thanks anyways." Catherine turned to leave when Greg called her back.

"Say, Catherine, what do you think Warrick should get Tina for Christmas?"

Warrick did his best to hide his embarrassment, but was only partly successful. Greg looked at Catherine, completely oblivious to Warrick's discomfort.

Catherine thought for a second, daring a glance at Warrick who was avoiding eye contact with her.

"I don't know, Greg. I have to find Nick and Sara about our case. Just think of something she likes."

"Thanks," Warrick spoke softly, finally able to look at Catherine.

The next second Catherine had disappeared out the door.

Warrick looked over at Greg who had returned to paging through the catalogue.

"Maybe she'd like something like that." He held up a page, showing Warrick the advertisement for edible underwear.

Warrick did not answer except to continue looking at him in a kind of disbelief.

Greg remained completely clueless. "What?"

Warrick just shook his head and grabbed the catalogue away from Greg.

* * *

After leaving the break room, Catherine checked out a couple of layout rooms. She found them unoccupied and continued walking the corridors looking for Nick and—

"Sara."

Sara appeared around the corner and walked over to Catherine.

"I've been looking all over for you. Did you find anything unuassual about thelonghair strand onthe one suit?"

"Thinking that someone else may have 'borrowed' the suit to rob the toy store before returning it to Mr. Eros' locker."

"Well, we already determined that it was an inside job due to lack of forced entry. It's not unreasonable to think that the burglars had access to other parts of the mall as well." Catherine finished looking sideways at Sara.

Sara smiled back. "Answer's in DNA."

"Thanks. You coming?"

"I'll be right with you. I gotta get some lunch first."

"Alright." Catherine broke away from Sara in the direction of the DNA lab. Remembering something, she stopped suddenly and turned towards Sara.

"Where's Nick?"

Sara shrugged. "A/V lab?"

"I already checked there."

Sara avoided answering by entering the break room. Catherine, slightly confused, turned and continued on to the DNA lab.

* * *

"Guys?" Grissom said in a slightly strained voice as walked into the break room, his demeanor attracting Greg and Warrick's attention. Sara looked up from her lunch as well.

For a second Grissom just stood there looking at the two men. The other tree occupants of the room exchanged confused glance, although Sara's showed more amusement.

"Oh," Warrick started coming to his senses. "My background check on Mrs. Ferm—"

"Hold up," Grissom interrupted, holding up his hand. "Me first. I got a garbage bag full of blood stained clothes that needs to be processed. Once that's done, we'll talk evidence."

Grissom waited, expecting them to jump right to work. When they did not, he said shortly, "Well?"

Sara watched Greg and Warrick leave, a concerned expression on her face. When Grissom turned to leave behind them, she stopped him.

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked.

He turned to face her. "Aren't you working on a case?" He made it clear that he did not want to discuss it.

"I'm having lunch. Join me, won't you?" She looked him square in the eyes as if daring him to defy her.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, he sat down across from her at the table. Leaning back in the chair he let out a deep sigh.

Sara watched him closely, then handed him the other half of her sandwich. He reached out and took it thankfully before once again leaning back in his chair.

For the remainder of lunch, his eyes never left her.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Catherine and Sara stood in DNA lab surrounded by a myriad of test tubes, computer analyzers, and data machines, looking at the DNA results on the long strand of hair Sara found.

"No matches were found in the database," the lab technician stated. "All I can tell you is that the hair came from a woman."

"So there was a woman wearing the suit," Sara commented.

The lab technician nodded and looked at the two women for a moment. "You, ah, got anything else to go on?"

"Not anything definitive," Catherine replied, glancing back at the lab results in her hand.

"Maybe we do." Nick came into the lab, stopping next to Catherine and Sara. "Archie was able to pull up some interesting shots of our suspects."

"Were you in the A/V lab the whole time?" Catherine asked, forgetting the case for a moment.

Nick nodded, handing Catherine the file folder that he brought in with him. He exchanged a quick look with Sara that went unnoticed by Catherine.

A large grin had spread across Catherine's face.

"I know who our ringleader is," and she headed for the door. "I'm going to have our suspect brought in."

She walked out of the room leaving Nick and Sara staring after her.

"DNA from the blood on the suit and shoes came back as Mrs. Montgomery's," Warrick said entering Grissom's office, Greg following close behind. Grissom sat at his desk, looking at his computer screen. He was researching antidepressants.

Warrick continued, "The fact that there is GSR present as well… Everything points to the husband as the murderer. The evidence is indisputable."

"We never found the gun," Grissom pointed out. "Also, if Tyler Montgomery killed his wife, is it possible that he drugged Mr. Cape also?"

At this point Greg stepped forward.

"From the research that I gathered about Mr. Cape from when you asked earlier, Mr. Cape more than likely committed suicide. He had a history of depression as was diagnosed in all his medical records. No wife, no family, no one to go home to—" Grissom shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "— probably eating away at him, especially at this time of year."

"What about Romy Montgomery? He was having an affair with her," Grissom stated.

Greg shrugged. "I think maybe she was the reason he lasted so long. She didn't leave her husband for him. Maybe she was the one he was hoping to come home to and she said no."

Grissom did not say anything at first when Greg had finished. He just sat and stared at the computer screen.

Warrick started summarizing, "So the husband finds out about his wife and Julian Cape, follows his wife. His wife had a key to the place so there was no forced entry. Mrs. Montgomery finds Julian dead, turns to leave—"

"Turns around and finds a gun in her face with her husband, Mr. Montgomery, at the other end. He kills her, takes her keys and locks up on the way out," Greg finished.

Grissom was still.

"Grissom?" Warrick called out to him.

Grissom jumped slightly, startled out of his thoughts. He turned to regard Greg and Warrick.

"Let's go get the husband."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Play Santa a lot do you?" Catherine asked the woman sitting across the table from her in the interrogation room. It was the same middle-aged woman that worked at the Cinnabon. The woman looked at Catherine, and then glanced quicklyat Nick and Sara standing behind her.

Catherine continued, "Robin is it? You know how Santa works, right? He's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty…"

Robin turned her head away, focusing on the floor.

"Look," Catherine took a folder from Nick, opening on the table before the woman, showing her picture. To Robin it was like looking in a mirror.

"We were able to manipulate the footage from the security camera, and the composite came out looking like you. I recognized you from the mall."

"If you manipulated it, how can you be so sure that it's supposed to be my image?" Robin asked quietly.

"From the DNA swab we took from you shortly after you were brought in, we were able to get a match to a strand of hair found on the Santa suit we can place at the crime scene due to some fibers we found," Sara shared.

Robin looked at them.

"You don't understand. All those kids," her throat caught, tears forming in her eyes. "Can you imagine, waking up on Christmas morning, running to the tree and not finding anything. There are thousands of kids out there waking up to this reality every year. I just wanted help the few that I could."

"Why not purchase the gifts?" Catherine asked, her tone softer.

"Puh." The woman looked incredulous at her. "I work at a Cinnabon in a shopping mall. You think I got a lot of money. Not to mention, I got three boys of my own to look after."

"Are they the ones that helped you out at the toy store? Your sons?"

The woman remained silent.

Catherine turned and looked at Nick and Sara. In silent agreement the three of them prepared to leave the room.

Robin called out to Catherine.

"The children are still goin' ta get the presents, aren't they? I mean they're all wrapped, just waiting to be handed out."

Catherine looked at her, sadly, lost for words.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Outside the large house with the Corinthian-style portico, the world was very quiet. Traffic passed by sporadically. Once in awhile, a couple going for an even walk crossed the driveway, not even glancing at the building.

Inside the house was silent as well, as if the sound had been trapped in a vacuum. There was hardly a sign of life, except in one room.

In a large, ornately decorated living room, a fire roared in the fireplace before a large armchair. Beside the armchair stood a small table on which was resting a half empty glass of red wine and a bottle of prescription pills marked as doxepin hydrochloride.

Sitting in the chair, Tyler Montgomery sat staring into the fire. Mesmerized by the dancing flames, he sat there in silence. His cheeks were wet with trails of tears.

In his right hand he held a photo.

His eyes never stopped looking strait ahead, always on the fire, as he slowly brought his left hand up to his temple, holding a gun already splattered with blood.

His finger twitched and the gun fired.

Silence.

* * *

Outside the large house with the Corinthian-style portico, red and blue lights flashed. The police stood behind the yellow tape, holding the neighbors away from the house.

Inside the house, the butler stood back in the entrance, watching many different people pass in and out of the front door. The cook and the maid stood behind him some distance, looking somewhat fearful of all the activity.

In the large, ornately decorated living room a fire was dying in the fireplace before the large armchair. A man with dark hair, wearing a black vest stood alone just off to the right of the armchair.

"I guess we found the gun," Brass stated walking into the room. "Grissom?"

He looked up at Brass, not saying a word. He turned back to look at the chair and noticed something lying on the floor. Slowly, he leaned over and picked it up, turning it over in his hand.

It was a photo of a couple embracing warmly, smiling, and looking into each other's eyes, lost…


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

In the Las Vegas Police Department reception area people were celebrating. There was a tree decorated beautifully with presents sitting beneath it. Food and drinks were all laid out on a couple of tables.

Children were present, looking slightly nervous, not really knowing what to expect. Police officers and lab technicians danced and played music, trying to put the children more at ease.

At one point Catherine got up, calling to get everyone's attention.

"Attention, please, everyone. A very special guest has arrived."

Everyone stood still, silent, watching. From around a corner, bells could be heard jingling. The noise grew louder as a large man in a red and white suit and carrying a large brown sack came into sight.

"Ho, ho, ho," he chuckled. "Merry Christmas."

"Santa!" all the children exclaimed in unison, rushing forward.

Catherine smiled at the sight of the children. Nick came over and stood beside her.

"Nice job."

Catherine looked at him. "It was all I could do after Robin told us why she took those toys. Different store owners were willing to come forward and pay for the toys to be donated to needy children."

"And hiring Mr. Eros to play Santa?"

"He was available." A sly grin appeared on her face.

Nick smiled. "Merry Christmas, Catherine."

"Merry Christmas, Nick." She looked over to the opposite side of the lounge where a young, teenage girl with blond hair stood by herself. Catherine excused herself from Nick and walked over to the girl.

"Merry Christmas, sweety." She pulled a gift out frombehind her back and held it out to her daughter.

Lindsey looked up at her for a second. Then she wrapped her arms around her mother and hugged her. "Merry Christmas, mom."

* * *

"Greg Sanders," Santa called out, pulling the next package from his sack.

Greg pointed a finger towards his chest in surprise, then walked up took the gift. As he walked toward the back of the room, escaping the kids still huddling around Santa, he looked at the tag. It was from his secret Santa.

Becoming impatient, he tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box. For a second he just stared, gaping at what he found.

He pulled out a pair of edible underwear. Realizing, he looked up just as Warrick walked past him, smiling.

"Merry Christmas, man."

Greg stared after him, speechless.

* * *

Grissom turned on the light to his office and walked over to his desk. He began moving papers around and gathering files together. He stopped for a minute when he heard the music and people laughing.

He let out a sigh and returned to his desk, opening his top desk drawer. Reaching inside, he stopped.

He pulled his hand back out, holding a small square package with a large green bow on top. He smiled warmly as he read the tag.

From: SS…

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


End file.
